S3 bus stops in Charlbury

Wed 21 Dec 2022, 13:38

We are all very lucky indeed living in Charlbury and having a train station/service greater than you would expect for a town of this size. Thank you Peter Parker!  

And also a bus service to travel to Oxford/Witney/Chippy.  

Do we take these things for granted I wonder?

And then they disappear..............

Tue 20 Dec 2022, 18:56 (last edited on Tue 20 Dec 2022, 18:58)

Buses in Charlbury are a nightmare.

My wife and I have given up our car for environmental reasons, for the 2nd time in 10 years, so we are wholly dependant on buses and the train service (which is also unreliable at present) to get anywhere - or a taxi.  The…

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Tue 20 Dec 2022, 12:57 (last edited on Tue 20 Dec 2022, 13:00)

Richard, you're a wunderkind!  That's exactly what I was thinking of.  Perhaps you should put a few up around the place. Meanwhile do please make that link permanent (the current link from this website's Directions page brings up a "404 Page Not Found" message).  And Christine, what a well-kept secret that early bus is, and a challenge for Richard to rise to.

It took me a long time after moving here to work out the buses.  It's not helped by Stagecoach calling the whole of the The Slade "Sturt Road".

I get my first bus pass in the next few weeks, and am planning a day-long pub-crawl to celebrate.  (I wonder when they'll bring the stop outside the Royal Oak at Ramsden back into use?)

Tue 20 Dec 2022, 12:04 (last edited on Tue 20 Dec 2022, 12:24)

Good attempt, Richard, and thanks. 

But I do think you need to fill in an option for the S3 /no 7 bus routes from Chipping Norton to Oxford, especially as the very first bus (no 7 Mondays to Saturdays) which comes from Chadlington does stop at the Scout Hut (I think), also Enstone Rd Bus Stop and then The Bell (06.15). In a different colour perhaps? It gets to Oxford Parkway (Stop A = Park and Ride Stop) at 07.04, then Summertown at 07.12, George Street 07.22, Oxford Main Station 07.30 (even though the S3/no 7 timetable does not show this!)

With Oxford Station closed for extended periods in 2023 and 2024, I can imagine that this bus (which goes to Oxford Station via Oxford Parkway Station) will become more popular -- the alternative for getting to London being a train to Hanborough, then a Rail Replacement bus to Didcot or, alternatively, getting the S3 bus to Woodstock and getting the no 7 bus to Oxford Parkway from there.

Tue 20 Dec 2022, 12:01

Brilliant work Richard!

Tue 20 Dec 2022, 10:51

Funny you should mention that…

Here’s a map.

Tue 20 Dec 2022, 10:17

Excellent idea, John, I have looked up all the info on buses I can, with a view to using them, but I can’t work out if they all stop at my nearest stop, and whether some of them do a double loop of the centre of town, or what!

Tue 20 Dec 2022, 05:39

Good to see the bus questionnaire on this website. Better public transport has to be the future if we're serious about the environment, locally and globally.

Part of my response to the questionnaire was "Please would our very own local cartographer Richard F channel his inner Harry Beck and produce a local bus map showing routes, stops and directions".

Wed 7 Dec 2022, 09:49 (last edited on Wed 7 Dec 2022, 09:51)

Yes, Stagecoach don’t do themselves any favours! It’s sort of implicit in the timetable link Christine gave but they don’t actually explain where the buses go, only those two stops.

Evening buses to/from Chipping Norton are:

• 1810 (S3 via Enstone)
• 1842 (7 via Chadlington)
• 1932 (7 via Chadlington)
• 2038 (S3 via Enstone)
• 2238 (S3 via Enstone)
• 0109 (N7 via Enstone)

All of these times are at the stop by Five Ways store (opposite Sturt Close). The bus picks up at the other stops along the Slade then turns along Enstone Road. I think the one you’re seeing is the 2238.

Buses back from Chipping Norton are:

• 1850 (S3 via Enstone)
• 2140 (S3 via Enstone)

These are the times leaving West Street. The bus goes straight down Enstone Road and to the Bell (i.e. not via the Slade). The 2140 is the regular entertainment at the R&C when someone has parked their SUV two feet out from the kerb on Church Street. There is a later bus from Chippy to Oxford but unfortunately it goes straight down the A44 to Woodstock.

Wed 7 Dec 2022, 09:46

I agree with Gareth. I like him are rather baffled at times about the route and timings of the S3 and Number 7 buses, especially the latter. 

Wed 7 Dec 2022, 09:25

That doesn’t answer my question.

Stagecoach’s timetable only shows stops at Sturt Road and Church Street.  There is also a Stagecoach bus, with passengers on it, that leaves Charlbury in the direction of Enstone after 10pm, certainly on weekday evenings.  Their timetable and the real time information page (which I discovered recently) frequently give conflicting information.

It’s funny that Stagecoach claims there isn’t enough support for its services at the same time as not explaining how people can use them….

Tue 6 Dec 2022, 20:40 (last edited on Tue 6 Dec 2022, 20:42)

Gareth, all the no 7 buses that go through Charlbury from Oxford (via Summertown and Oxford Parkway) go on to Chipping Norton. Late afternoons/early evenings only. They stop at Sturt Rd and other bus stops along The Slade: Dancer's Hill and Wychwood Close. I don't think the no 7 buses show up on Richard's live feed. 

They go straight over the Enstone crossroads via Chadlington. There's a late night N7 bus as well (but goes via Enstone rather than Chadlington), turning right at the crossroads. 

The S3 bus that leaves Oxford Magdalen St at 17.10 goes on to Chipping Norton, turning right at the Enstone crossroads. It doesn't go down to The Bell.

The S3/no 7 bus timetable is here: https://tiscon-maps-stagecoachbus.s3.amazonaws.com/Timetables/Oxford_Timetables/S3_current.pdf

Tue 6 Dec 2022, 17:30

I’d still like to know which S3 services go from Charlbury to Chipping Norton, and where they stop.  The Stagecoach service information page gives what can kindly be described as a choice of information….

Tue 6 Dec 2022, 11:59 (last edited on Tue 6 Dec 2022, 12:34)

Looking at the live map, the last X9 to Witney went down to the Co-op then along Pooles Lane (missing out the Wychwood Paddocks stop), while the last X9 to Chippy went straight round the Slade without going into the centre of town. That’s no guarantee of what the next one will do, of course…!

For the X9, I suspect either Five Ways store or the Scout Hut is the best bet.

edit: The latest X9 to Witney has just gone round the Slade without going down to the Co-op.

Tue 6 Dec 2022, 11:37 (last edited on Tue 6 Dec 2022, 11:44)

For the s3/no7 buses I recommend the Slade, opposite side to the bus stop at Wychwood Close or opposite the Dancers Hill bus stop or near Sturt Rd. These are what are showing on the Stagecoach live app, but these won't be an actual bus stops, so keep your eyes peeled and stick out an arm.

These should also work for the X9. For X9 there's also a stop (or 2) on 9 Acres Lane. On Street Fair days I usually hover before the crossroads and stick out an arm. 

I don't recommend Nine Acres for the S3 because late afternoon there are actually 3 different routes that the S3 or no 7 buses take to get to Chipping Norton or Charlbury  and presumably also back again. 

I posted this before reading Richard's post, so do please add that info in. Given the no 7 buses that run late afternoon and an odd S3 bus that goes via Enstone, however, I do think the Slade the better option.

Tue 6 Dec 2022, 11:25 (last edited on Tue 6 Dec 2022, 11:25)

The S3 looks like it’s going to the Co-op/Playing Close and turning round in the Spendlove car park.

(If you click the bus times on the homepage it takes you to a map where you can see the current location of the buses!)

Tue 6 Dec 2022, 11:16

Also the X9!!

Tue 6 Dec 2022, 10:27

Hi

With Brown’s Lane being closed at present, I would be very grateful if someone could tell me where you can catch the S3 bus going to Oxford. I am looking to go late afternoon today.

Thanks in advance 

Maggie